Sokurov seeks to transport us into the gentle, lyrical world
of the titular father and son, where most communication is made through
gestures and glances, and the strength of the understanding and love shared
between the lead characters is intuitively, palpably, oppressively understood.
The tools Sokurov uses to take us there are similar to those used in the
companion film, Mother and Son: stylized photography, with distorted,
two-dimensional imagery, earth tones, Tchaikovsky-inspired music, understated
acting. Though thematically and stylistically akin to Mother and Son, Father
and Son fails to evoke the same profound emotions, try as hard as it may. The
whole affair feels too empty, the numerous shots of a head resting silently,
lovingly on a shoulder feel too affected. There's a whole lot syle here, but
it's inadequate, for it's in service of something that doesn't amount to much.

The warm, muted colors and slightly
soft, dreamy imagery of the film are pretty well represented on this
video-sourced disc. It's often dark and murky, but that's presumably an
effect Sokurov was going for. The handful of still photos included as an
extra are quite lovely, with imagery that's even nicer than what's seen in
the film. (Donald Brown)

----------------------
The image of Artificial Eye is almost identical to Wellspring, however it
is sharper in detail. While the film is very soft in tone, image #5 shows
the difference in detail (notice the reflection on Aleksei's arm [also
compare the sharpness of the x-ray in these captures - DB]). There is also
more frameinformation in the AE image, aprx 1% more top and bottom, and 1%
right.

Most striking is the difference is subtitling. As shown here, on the
Wellspring DVD it says "Are you over there again?", while the AE says "Are
you still over there?", which are two completely different questions. It
would be nice, if someone who understood Russian could comment on what is
said, in order to determine the most correct translation.

Following a trailer and filmography of director, writer and DoP, AE has
added the 1995 short "Soldatski Son" (A Soldier’s Dream). Directed by
Alexander Sokurov, its an poetic account of lonely Russian soldiers
stationed on the Tajiki-Afghani border are a meditation on humanity’s
ultimately spiritual nature. It is presented in 4:3 full screen and is
very dark and murky.

The image may have been cropped for theatrical, and subsequently DVD,
release, as the Ruscico DVD is presented in 1.33:1 full screen, according
to (http://shop.gay.ru/products/4155.html) and other Russian sources. The
Ruscico DVD also runs reported 97 minutes, vs. the 83 minutes running time
of both DVDs reviewed here, as has 5.1 Dolby Digital sound, vs. 2.0 Dolby
Digital. (Henrik Sylow)

------------------
It should also be pointed out that the Wellspring is a PAL-to-NTSC
transfer, a fact I was unaware when I wrote the review for that edition.
(DB)